Advanced Topics in Korean Literature and Culture (340-0-20)
Topic
Transpacific Literature: Saboteurs and Tricksters
Instructors
Jeong Eun We
847/467-5941
Kresge 1880 Campus Drive, #4-419
Office Hours: varies by quarter
Meeting Info
Kresge 4438 Asian LC Sem Rm: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
AY24 This seminar is organized around two multilingual and experimental literary texts by Native American and Asian American authors on intertwined histories of violence across the Pacific, paired with secondary readings on Korea, Japan, and Native America. The seminar asks: what happens when literary texts approach historical violence with irony and irreverence? How do we engage different scales of violence across the Pacific without reducing them to relics of the past or objects in a museum framed by somber mood? Would doing so cause offense, or reveal something unsaid about how we are often asked to engage such histories? First, you will read the Anishinaabe writer and thinker Gerald Vizenor's Hiroshima Bugi: Atomu 57 (2003), followed by the Korean American poet and non-fiction writer Cathy Park Hong's Dance Dance Revolution (2007). Weaving together stories of the atomic bombing, military occupations, settler colonialism, imperialism, and disablement, these texts serve as a gateway to explore the questions raised in transpacific studies on decolonization. While focusing on Hiroshima, Kwangju, and White Earth reservation as key sites of inquiry, the seminar will bridge relevant readings from Asian Studies, Asian American Studies, and Native American and Indigenous Studies. This seminar will be discussion-centered with several writing assignments. No prior knowledge of the geographic areas or language skills are necessary. Students with prior exposure to at least one literary, cultural studies, or theory course at 200 or 300 level (if you are unsure, email Professor We) are encouraged to enroll, though there are no pre-requisites. The course engages closely with histories of violence, and participation is an essential component of this course. There will be frequent collaborative writing assignments and one final research paper.
Learning Objectives
Interpret the ways Korean cultural and literary texts explore the issues of colonialism, nation building, citizenship, gender, sexuality, disability, and neoliberalization. Develop the skills to build layered, advanced, and well-reasoned arguments on Korean literature and culture. Engage the arguments of authors without reducing or unquestioningly accepting them as one's own. Practice expressing advanced, multi-stage arguments in both writing and verbal presentation. Provide analyses of adequate and well-chosen evidence. Develop clarity and creativity of expression on Korean literature and culture.
Teaching Method
Discussion
Evaluation Method
Group Writing Assignment, Final Research Paper, Presentation, Participation.
Class Materials (Required)
1. Hiroshima Bugi: Atomu 57. By Gerald Vizenor. ISBN: 978-0-8032-3284-6. 2. Dance Dance Revolution: Poems. By Cathy Park Hong. ISBN: 978-0393333114.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area